Ukrainian troops have shelled the Russian city of Donetsk, killing at least four people and injuring 13 others, local authorities announced in the early hours of Monday.
The head of the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR), Denis Pushilin, urged citizens to seek shelter.
Emergency officials told TASS news agency that a journalist had been killed and another injured, without naming them.
Casualties were reported after the city center was hit by “a massive barrage,” officials said. They added that one of the main hotels in Donetsk – the Donbass Palace – was struck. A school, an office building, a shop, and several residential buildings were also damaged.
Pushilin released a statement at around 1am local time, saying Ukraine had used multiple rocket launchers. “I urge everyone to stay in shelters,” he wrote on Telegram. “The shelling can resume at any moment.”
A local resident told RIA Novosti that the attack began shortly after midnight on New Year’s Eve. “I went to the balcony for a smoke, and heard a loud bang. I thought at first that it was fireworks,” he said.
Unverified videos posted to social media show several explosions.
Other videos show damaged apartment blocks, shops, and vehicles.
Donetsk frequently comes under rocket attacks due to its proximity to the front line. The most recent shelling occurred after Ukraine fired missiles at the Russian border city of Belgorod on Saturday, killing 24 people and wounding 109.
According to the Russian Defense Ministry, Kiev used cluster munition to carry out a “premeditated act of terrorism” against civilians. Moscow requested an urgent meeting of the UN Security Council on Saturday. In a speech at the UN, Russian envoy Vassily Nebenzia stated that US and British “consultants” helped Ukraine plan the strikes on Belgorod.
On Sunday, the Russian MOD announced retaliatory missile strikes on several targets in Ukraine, including a former hotel in Kharkov that it claimed housed senior military planners “directly involved” in the shelling of Belgorod. Ukrainian officials reported that the raid on Kharkov left 28 civilians wounded.